Antonine Centre action bars Westway plan

North Lanarkshire Council has lost a legal battle to allow a Cumbernauld retail park to expand.

The council had granted planning permission for the proposed development – including a cinema, car showroom and stores – at Westway Retail Park , in Castlecary Road.

However this was opposed by the owners of the Antonine Centre Bridges Antonine, who were concerned about impact on trade within the town centre.

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The appeal was considered at the Court of Session which found that the council’s position was  “materially flawed,” a decision which could see the local authority lumbered with hefty legal fees.

Bridges Antonine had sought judicial review and Lord Burns agreed with their position, saying council officials had failed to properly assess the impact on the town centre and had given insufficient information to councillors, specifically by failing to call for a retail impact assessment.

Lord Burns said the council “acted unreasonably and perversely in concluding that the Westway proposal could be developed without detriment to Cumbernauld Town Centre.”

In his findings, Lord Burns agreed, saying the reasons given by the council for granting permission for the expansion “were perverse and inadequate”.

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He concluded: “I find that the respondents (North Lanarkshire Council) failed to fulfil their statutory duties under the 1997 Act; that they erred in law; that they failed to give proper reasons; and that they acted unreasonably.”

Tom Tyler of Bridges Antonine said: “We are delighted the Court of Session has agreed with what we told the council from day one, namely that councillors had not been provided with the correct information. This led them to make a decision which would have had a catastrophic impact on Cumbernauld Town Centre.

“We consistently sought to find a solution to this issue but planners failed to listen to our concerns and forced us to take legal action.  This will result in significant costs which will be picked up by council tax payers of North Lanarkshire.

“Hopefully, this will be the end of the matter and the council can now focus on working alongside us, in these incredibly challenging times.  It is more important than ever that national planning policies restricting further out of town development are respected so that we can focus on delivering a successful future for Cumbernauld Town Centre which will benefit every resident and the local economy.”

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A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We note the court’s decision, are examining it and will determine our next steps in due course.”

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